


The Good Doctor

by TimeShadow_01



Series: The Wizarding World of Wilford Warfstache [5]
Category: jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, natewantstobattle
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Angry magic research, Bullying, Gen, Healing, Sam is baby, Therapy, These characters need to listen to their medical proffesionals, Watch your mouth Anti, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24365083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeShadow_01/pseuds/TimeShadow_01
Summary: The aftermath of Dark's stint on Disc of Wishes, and an introduction to the life of Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein.
Series: The Wizarding World of Wilford Warfstache [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758817
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	The Good Doctor

Dark woke up in a bright room. They had a pounding headache, and something was attached to their arm. They shot up in bed as the memories came flooding back- the lights, the show, the food, the basement, and Bim. They looked around wildly, mild panic setting in before they remembered what had happened after. Their retrieval from the streets of south London, and the long trip back to the Committee. Maybe they really did need those vacation days that Abe always pressured them to take. 

They were in some sort of hospital bed, a curtain partitioning them from the rest of the room. A slow IV drip filled with restorative magic was attached to their arm, helping them return to full strength. There were bandages around their wrists and ankles, and it hurt to move them. As they tried to get their bearings, they spotted a shadow walking around the room and tried to call out to them, but the only thing that came out was a raspy gurgle. 

The shadow moved closer and the curtains were pushed aside to reveal Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein, holding a mug full of steaming liquid. The doctor looked exhausted, but managed a brief smile for his patient.

“Good to see you’re up so soon. Normally those subjected to that much corrupt magic take a longer time to heal,” the doctor said quietly as he carefully handed the mug to Dark. They winced as they felt their wrist sting a bit from the strain of holding the mug. 

“What is this, some kind of healing potion?” they asked in a whisper. It smelled good for a healing potion, a sweet and warm scent. 

“Something like that,” Henrik replied, smiling for a moment and folding his hands in front of him. “Tea with honey and lemon, for your throat. Whatever horrible spell that madman used did some severe damage to your throat, so it will take a few weeks to fully recover. Just drink one of these once a day and try not to talk too much, and your throat will be right as rain.”

Dark nodded in confirmation. “Thank you, doctor,” they whispered. “If that's it, I think I'll be going.” They moved to get up, hissing as the pain in their wrists and ankles flared up again. 

“Where do you think you're going?” Henrik's voice was calm, but with an underlying panicked tone. He placed a hand on Dark's shoulder to push them back down, but pulled back when they instinctively flinched at the gentle touch. “The corrupt magic hasn't fully filtered out of your body yet, what you need now is to rest.” Dark grumbled under their breath before settling back on the bed with a huff. They were sure they’d feel better walking around and getting some fresh air, but they weren’t about to strain their voice arguing.

Henrik let out a tired sigh and pulled off his glasses, wiping off a few specks of dust with a simple white handkerchief. “Drink the tea,” he ordered gently, “and get some rest. I’ll check on you in an hour and we’ll see how you’re doing then, alright?”

Dark nodded and took a sip of the hot tea. It was sweet and soothing, but still stung slightly as they swallowed. “Thanks, doctor,” they said softly, setting the mug on a side table.

“For the last time, please call me Henrik,” the doctor huffed. “I’m only practicing because I have no other choice. I’d hardly consider myself a doctor.” He tensed and looked towards the end of Dark’s bed.

Dark hesitated. They could tell Henrik didn’t want to talk about what he’d done to get his item broken, but at the same time, Dark couldn’t think of a better time to ask. They hadn’t gotten the opportunity to bring it up the many other times they’d visited Henrik. They considered trying to ask Abe again, but quickly dismissed the idea. Henrik was the only one who was likely at all to give them a clear answer.

“What did you do?” they asked finally, stopping Henrik in his tracks as he was about to walk away. They could see his shoulders tighten, and then sag. He let out a shaky breath before turning to face Dark again.

Henrik gave Dark a strained smile. “I tried to play god,” he said, voice catching slightly. Before Dark could press him further, the doctor turned on his heel and pushed past the curtain, leaving Dark alone. Another question they’d never know the answer to.

Dark slid down more into the bed and let out another huff. They’d been met with closed doors ever since they showed up at the Crime Department. If they snooped too much into things, they’d be gently steered away like a nosy child. They felt more and more like an outsider every day. If it didn’t have to do with Warfstache, it wasn’t deemed necessary for Dark to know.

Dark tried to fall asleep and rest like Henrik had ordered, but every time they closed their eyes, all they saw was Bim’s face, jagged teeth too close for comfort. The minutes seemed to drag along, and Dark eventually swung their legs over the side of the bed. They downed the rest of the tea quickly and carefully detached the IV drip. When they peered their head around the curtain, Henrik was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone off to his room somewhere. Dark took their coat off of the rack by the door and slipped out of the office.

“Hello,  _ Dark.” _

Dark froze in their tracks, cringing at the sound of the voice behind them. Maybe if they ignored him, he’d go away. If they just kept walking-

“Dude, don’t ignore me. That’s rude.”

Dark let out a tired sigh before turning around and facing one of the biggest names in the Crime Department, and the second biggest pain in their ass.

Mare Sharp.

His flawlessly messy black hair covered one eye, and the iridescent blue scars running down his face shimmered perfectly in the light. He wore a clever, knowing smirk, and twirled the long wire of his microphone around one finger.

“What do you want, Mare?” Dark sighed, praying for some easy way to escape the conversation.

“Well, that’s no way to greet a friend,” Mare teased. Dark glared. “I was coming to visit you, but I guess ol’ Grump-lestein released you early.” He frowned and tapped his chin, then grinned wickedly. “Oh wait, he  _ didn’t _ release you early, did he?”

Dark looked down and shuffled their feet. “It’s none of your business,” they grumbled, shoving their hands in their pockets.

“Well, no,” Mare chuckled, “but if I were you, I wouldn’t be trying to get into any more trouble than you already are.” Dark’s head snapped back up, meeting Mare’s smug gaze.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” they asked, eyes wide. They were in trouble? For what? What had they done wrong?

“Well, you didn’t catch Warfstache  _ again _ , for one,” Mare said, voice dripping with theatrical sympathy. “You got way off mission,  _ and _ you almost got Abe killed.”

“That- I- That wasn’t my fault!” Dark stammered, throwing their hands in the air. “This stupid glittery conman said he’d lead us to Warfstache! It’s not my fault he lied!”

“Yeah, well- wait, you met Marvin?”

“Is that important?” Dark raised an eyebrow.

“N-no!” Mare yelped, looking away quickly. “You didn’t catch him, did you?”

Dark thought they spied a red tint spreading across Mare’s face, but it was gone before they could be sure. “No,” they answered slowly. “He knocked us out and turned us over to Trimmer.”

Mare cleared his throat and turned away from Dark. “Well, good luck with the Committee,” he said, giving Dark a single wave before stalking away, head low and coat flowing behind him.

Dark chuckled and turned the other way, shaking their head slightly as they went. They knew the look of someone with a crush. Whatever encounter Mare had had with Marvin, it’d left a lasting impression.

.

.

Henrik made sure the curtain was completely closed before quietly pushing aside the carpet covering the trapdoor next to his desk. He lifted the trapdoor slowly, letting out a sigh of relief when it didn’t creak and revealing a steep staircase down into the basement. Stealing one last glance over his shoulder, he crept down as silently as he could, gently lowering the hatch behind him. He walked carefully down the shoddy stairs, hand grazing against a familiar spot of the wall in search of the light switch in the dark. He flipped the switch, and a single bare lightbulb weakly flickered to life to illuminate the room. 

Something flew by his head, hitting the wall behind him with a dull  _ thud. _ Henrik turned to find a bloodstained knife buried into the wall mere inches from his face. Completely unphased, he simply sighed and turned back to the room. “Another dead end?” he called quietly to a figure sitting hunched over a desk near the back of the dimly lit room. 

“This is the third fucking book you’ve brought me this week, and I  _ still  _ haven’t found anything that can be useful!” the figure spat, slamming a heavy leather-bound book shut. He abruptly stood up and stalked towards the center of the room, carrying the book with him. Now under direct light, the figure’s gaunt appearance was more visible. He had pallid skin and sunken, mismatched eyes. A jagged wound split his neck, fresh blood staining the collar of his already dirty black shirt. 

“Anti, I’ve told you before, there isn’t a lot of actually helpful research on it. There’s only so many books available, even at the Library.” Henrik said sympathetically, unphased by the other’s injury. “We just have to keep looking.”

“You’ve been saying that for the past… I don’t know how long! I’m tired of there not being any leads. We’re just going in fucking circles at this point!” Anti shouted, clearly frustrated. He turned to face a wall, and chucked the book as hard as he could. It slammed against the wall, falling to the ground next to a messy bed. 

Henrik winced at the loud noise. “I know you’re frustrated, but could you  _ please _ try to be a little more quiet? I have a patient upstairs, and they’re from the Crime Department. I’m on thin ice as it is, do you know what they’ll do to me if they find out I have an undead person living down here? Do you know what they’ll do to  _ you? _ ”

Anti kept his back turned to Henrik to hide the look of regret on his face. He turned on his heel, arms crossed. “Whatever…” he grumbled, shooting a sneer at Henrik. 

He stalked back over to the desk, collapsing in the beat up leather chair with stuffing coming out of several gashes in its leather. He leaned forward and poked at a jar that sat there, smiling when he saw movement in the murky green liquid. “Heya, Sam,” he crooned, the living eyeball running itself into the glass to meet Anti’s finger. “Aw, looks like someone wants a little attention.” He twirled his finger across the glass, laughing as the little eyeball followed it with the intensity of a kitten chasing a laser pointer.

Henrik sighed. He and his roommate always tended to argue over the smallest things, and some days it would make him too exhausted to deal with anything. He walked over and picked up the fallen book, walking back to the stairs as he let out yet another exhausted sigh. “I'll get you another book as soon as I can, but you know we have to be careful. Too many trips to the Library and the Committee might get suspicious.” He didn’t bother facing Anti as he spoke. All he got in response was a low growl, as always. Anti consistently seemed to be angry or frustrated at something and everything, and it was useless to try to reason with him. The best Henrik could do was ignore him or leave the room, and he had a patient he needed to treat anyways. “Oh, and Sam’s fluid needs to be cleaned,” Henrik added. “It’s your turn.”

He trudged back up the stairs, turning the light off as he went. After a quick peek to make sure no one was in his room, he quietly snuck out of the basement and closed the trap door behind him. He walked into his office, but instead of a sleeping patient he saw an empty bed. He heard voices outside the door to the hallway, and recognized both. Normally he would at least attempt to bring Dark back in, but he was far too tired to argue with two more people just as stubborn as Anti; so instead he pulled out his flask and took a few long swallows. 

“I’m not dealing with that shit,” he muttered to himself, sitting down at his desk to organize some paperwork. Reaching into his desk to retrieve the stack of papers, he hesitated before sliding open a small compartment in the back. Before he could remove its contents, however, there was a loud knock at his door, and an enthusiastic voice calling his name.

“Henrik, I know you’re in there!” the voice called cheerfully. Henrik tightened the lid on his flask and tossed it in the desk drawer before closing it and standing up. Was it really Sunday already? He glanced at the clock on the wall as he approached the door. Three in the afternoon, right on time.

“Henrik!” The doctor was pulled off of his feet and into a tight bear hug as soon as he opened the door. He pretended to gasp for air when he was finally let go.

Jackie Boymin towered over Henrik, looking down at him with a radiant grin. It felt like Henrik was staring up at his polar opposite. Jackie was kind, understanding, friendly, positive, happy, and everything else that Henrik wasn’t. He had also been assigned Henrik’s personal escort, and had self-assigned himself as Henrik’s therapist. Jackie absolutely radiated positivity, which was even more obvious when compared with Henrik. Jackie’s positive energy was only amplified by the buttons on his bright red coat lapels, each enchanted to radiate their own positive field. His short, messy brown hair was pushed back by a pair of blue and gold goggles- his magic item.

“Afternoon, Jackie,” Henrik huffed, stepping aside to let Jackie into the office. He could have sworn the room visibly brightened as his tall companion bounced inside.

“Good afternoon, Henrik!” Jackie responded cheerily, producing a pair of large, comfortable chairs with a flick of his wrist. He took a seat, and gestured to the one across from him. “How are you doing today?”

“I’ve been better,” Henrik sighed, practically falling into the soft chair cushions. “Mostly just tired.” Henrik’s response was always the same, but it never seemed to discourage Jackie. Nothing discouraged Jackie.

“Have you been getting enough sleep lately?” Jackie asked, clearly hoping Henrik’s response would change at least somewhat.

Henrik shook his head, and Jackie let out a patient sigh. “You need to sleep, Henrik,” Jackie said gently. “I know it’s hard, but you’ll feel better if you’re well rested. I don’t know if it would help, but perhaps we could arrange for the WC to let me—”

“I don’t need a roommate,” Henrik interrupted, shaking his head again. “I sleep better on my own.” Truth be told, Henrik probably wouldn’t mind having Jackie as a roommate, but it wasn’t for his own sake that he repeatedly turned down the positivity wizard’s company. He couldn’t risk anyone finding Anti. The Committee wouldn’t be pleased with Henrik if they found the dead body beneath his floor boards, or any of their research for that matter. 

Jackie’s face showed that he severely doubted that, but he wasn’t going to push him on it. “Alright, but if you ever change your mind, you can-“

“I can go and ask you. I know.” There was an awkward silence for a minute, and Henrik had to stop himself from instinctually reaching for his flask.

“So, how are you doing? Have you made any progress?”

“Yes. I haven’t touched a drink in a while.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, a few minutes was a while.

“You haven’t been following the plan at all, have you?”

“I have, I promise. You can check if you want, you won’t find anything.” Of course he wouldn’t, Henrik had moved all of his usual hiding spots. Jackie gave him a doubtful look as he stood up and began to search around, as he was required to every visit. He only remembered the flask he had carelessly tossed into the drawer when Jackie pulled it out with a sigh.

“I don’t think this is apple juice, Henrik,” Jackie teased, twisting the lid off of the flask and giving its contents a whiff. He scrunched up his nose and quickly replaced the lid. Henrik appreciated his attempt to sound lighthearted, but he could tell Jackie was disappointed.

“I  _ have _ been making progress,” Henrik half-mumbled, looking down at the floor. “It’s just to take the edge off.” He glanced up at Jackie, fully prepared to see just how let down he looked. Instead, he was greeted with sympathetic eyes and a gentle smile. Henrik didn’t know what he’d done to deserve Jackie.

Jackie sighed and tossed the flask back in the desk drawer. “I know,” he said, giving Henrik a gentle pat on his shoulder before sitting down again. Henrik watched tensely as Jackie produced a pen and clipboard from his pocket and began checking off a list. It happened every week, but watching Jackie check off his list for the Committee was always just as stressful. Henrik itched to grab his flask out of his drawer, but not while Jackie was sitting right there. He’d already disappointed the positivity wizard enough.

After what felt like an eternity, Jackie slipped the checklist back in his pocket and stood up, a wide grin spread across his face. “Anything else I can do for you, Henrik?” he asked, helping the doctor out of his chair. “Books, food, supplies?”

“Not today,” Henrik replied, somewhat sheepishly. “You are too kind to me, Jackie. I don’t deserve it.” Henrik shoved his hands in his pockets, avoiding looking up at Jackie. He tensed when Jackie pulled him close in a gentle hug.

“How many times am I going to have to tell you, Henrik?” Jackie chuckled. “No matter what you’ve done, you deserve to be happy as much as everyone else.” He held Henrik out at arms length, hands clasped firmly on the doctor’s shoulders. “Now, I’ll see you next week, same time, right?”

Henrik nodded silently, afraid that if he tried to speak he’d just burst out into tears instead. He was so used to being scorned at every turn whenever he stepped out of his office, Jackie’s unconditional kindness constantly caught him off guard. He wouldn’t blame Jackie if he ever quit trying. Henrik was more of a hopeless case than the file marked ‘Bim Trimmer.’

“Chin up, Henrik,” Jackie said suddenly. “Things will get better, I promise. Here—” Jackie popped one of the pins off of his lapel, a simple black and silver diamond— “You need this more than I do.” Before Henrik could protest, Jackie had already stuck the pin on the collar of his shirt. It felt… warm, like stepping outside on a warm summer day. Henrik could almost picture the picnic blanket spread out on the freshly cut grass, his… no. They were gone. Henrik cleared the image from his mind and looked up at Jackie.

“Thank you, friend.” Henrik stepped aside as Jackie packed up the chairs, and opened the door for the taller wizard. Jackie gave Henrik one last hug before he stepped out the door.

“Anytime!” Jackie pointed a pair of finger guns at Henrik.

Henrik almost closed the door, but stopped when he remembered what had happened earlier. “Oh, and if you see Dark, remind them to keep drinking tea with honey!”

Jackie nodded and Henrik finished closing the door. Now that the walking beacon of positivity had left the room, the difference was clearer than night and day. Henrik immediately felt his spirit drop, only lifted slightly by the pin on his collar. He opened the door a crack and made sure that Jackie turned the corner before closing the door again. Feeling only slightly bad for betraying Jackie’s trust, Henrik pulled his flask out of the desk drawer and collapsed in the old office chair. It had been a long day, and what Jackie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. No more patients that day meant that Henrik could spend the rest of his evening drinking and forgetting.

Jackie didn’t know what he was talking about. Henrik needed this. He wasn’t sure how he’d survive if he had to live with the constant memory of what he’d done every time he closed his eyes, not to mention the undead reminder living in his basement. Eying the door to his office one last time, Henrik opened the leg of his desk and pulled out a large bottle of whiskey, ready to down it all and forget the whole night.

**Author's Note:**

> No art this time, but we hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Come join us on Tumblr at https://wwoww-au.tumblr.com/ or on Discord at https://discord.gg/4VgYQsw to check out more content!


End file.
